January 2025
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New Fiction Roundup, February 2025
Ok, we’re a month into 2025. How is your reading going? For those on a roll, or those still on the hunt for their first good read of the year, February brings a range of offerings. And of course, don’t miss the new Peak Picks titles coming to branches in February. 2/4: The Dissenters by… Continue reading
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February 2025 Author and Community Events at the Library
The Library has many programs that will get you reading, talking and connecting this month, including a sweet silent reading program at the Green Lake Branch; an event featuring Jennifer Finney Boylan talking about “Cleavage,” and Omar El Akkad in conversation with Ijeoma Oluo about his new book “One Day Everyone Will Have Been Against… Continue reading
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A Peek at Peak Picks – February 2025
We’re adding eleven books to Peak Picks in February! In fiction, Pulitzer Prize finalist Eowyn Ivey (The Snow Child) returns to the mythical landscapes of Alaska with an unforgettable dark fairy tale that asks the question – can love save us from ourselves? – in Black Woods, Blue Sky. TJ Klune is back with a supernatural road-trip thriller featuring… Continue reading
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New Teen Romance – January 2025
We updated our Teen Romance list in time for February, and here are six of our favorite titles. In All Alone with You by Amelia Diane Coombs, loner Eloise agrees to volunteer to help out seniors so she can pad her college applications. Her trainer and partner, Austin, takes an instant liking to her, but… Continue reading
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Middle Grade Fiction for the New Year
I’m still a huge fan of middle grade fiction and love finding new titles to enjoy, even as an adult. Here are some that I recommend for the new year A Whale of the Wild by Rosanne Parry Vega, an orca whale living in the Salish Sea, knows that someday she will take on the responsibility… Continue reading
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How to Read More in 2025
“Books are uniquely suited to helping us change our relationship to the rhythms and habits of daily life in this world of endless connectivity. We can’t interrupt them; we can only interrupt ourselves while reading them.” — Will Schwalbe, “Books for Living“ Here’s a secret: Librarians give you permission to read anything you like because… Continue reading
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Depth Year Skills: Stitching Across Time
One of the things I love most about working in a library is the immediate access to books and other media that help me learn how to do things. The O’Reilly Database is a fantastic place to find scientific, technical, and computer skills resources, like the Canva Cookbook, which can teach me how to make… Continue reading
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Friendship Stories for the New Year
Though we often associate love stories with romantic partnership, Lilly Dancyger’s First Love: Essays on Friendship highlights the role that friendship plays in forming our associations with love, as well as opportunities to care for one another and show forms of love we may not receive in our families of origin or romantic relationships. After reading… Continue reading
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Impact Story: Digital Inclusion in Action at the Delridge Branch
What does it mean to have computer skills for the first time? On a Saturday afternoon in December at the Delridge Branch’s meeting room, 11 newly minted adult graduates of a 13-week basic digital literacy class organized by Villa Comunitaria, reflected on this question. One student, Abel, said that the class has helped prepare him… Continue reading
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Miss Amanda’s Picture Book Picks – January 2025
Picture books are such a wonderful way to explore the world, and I am a firm believer that they can be enjoyed by all ages. Here are three new(ish) books that I recommend as we start the new year. Brown Girl, Brown Girl, written by Leslé Honoré and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera Honoré wrote… Continue reading
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New Teen Fiction for 2025
As we launch into the new year, we recommend eleven of the best and most popular new novels for teens. In Aisle Nine, by Ian X. Cho, Jasper spends his life recovering from a head injury that left him with deep amnesia and working for a retail store where, in aisle nine, there is a… Continue reading
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Winter 2025 Arts Events: Pico Iyer, Schuyler Bailar, Jesse Hagopian and More
If your ideal winter night is an evening listening to authors discuss intriguing books and ideas, we’ve got you covered, from Pico Iyer to Schulyer Bailar to T.J. Klune. All library events are free and open to the public. Check the event descriptions at spl.org/Calendar for registration links. Find more upcoming programs at spl.org/Authors. Silent Reading Night at… Continue reading
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New Nonfiction Roundup – January 2025
January is brimming with self improvement and self care titles: Brooke Shields shares her thoughts on aging as a woman in Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old while Naomi Watts opens up about what she wished she’d known about menopause in Dare I Say It; relationship coach Jillian Turecki reveals the 9 hard… Continue reading
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The Seattle Public Library Will Expand Open Hours at Nine Locations on Jan. 29
The Seattle Public Library will expand open hours at nine branches starting on Wednesday, Jan. 29. With this increase, all library locations, with the exception of the University Branch, which closes on Jan. 29 for renovations, will be open at least six days a week. Thirteen locations will be open seven days a week. “With… Continue reading